The Only One
by Shaddic
Summary: "You know he won't last much longer. You've seen how the crown has steadily eaten away at his sanity ever since the first time he put it on. You see dear, that crown of his, it's filled with all the power of the ice and snow, of everything cold. It will destroy him, and then you'll be all alone again, Marcie." "He's the only one who hasn't left me, and I won't ever leave him."
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**__ So I usually only write Batman stories, and I was taking a break from writing in general, but after watching the heart-wrenching Adventure Time episode, "I Remember You," I was inspired and had to write this and get it off my chest. Hope you like it :)_

So cold, why is it so cold? The last time he'd looked at a calendar it had read May, almost June, and it hadn't been very long since he'd last seen one. So why, why was the world so cold?

It took Simon Petrikov a long while to realize that the world wasn't cold. It was gray and broken and rubble as far as the eye could see. The air reeked of smog and the silence was interrupted every now and again by a scream, either a scream of terror or a cry of desolation and despair. But no, the world was not cold, the cold was coming from inside him.

Once Simon realized this, he stood, his joints cracking from having been locked in the same position for so long. He noticed a beam of sunlight shining through a hole in the roof of the shelter they were currently staying in, and so he knew it was still daytime.

He took off the crown and tied it to his belt, and ventured outside. The crown had been speaking to him, and though he hated its voice, whenever it spoke he could not help but listen to it, as though it were the song of a bird from its nest in a tree, when in fact it sounded more horrible than anything he had ever heard. Yet, he still listened.

Outside the shelter, which had once been a medical clinic that had already been raided, he felt and saw the sun shine down on him, doing its best to restore heat to his tired body. But he felt no warmth, none at all. He may as well have been swimming in a frozen ocean for all the good it did him. He wondered what a warm breeze would feel like on his face, or what it felt like to be snuggled under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate. He had memories of such things, but they did him little good anymore. They may as well have been someone else's memories entirely.

"Mr. Simon!" he heard someone cry out to him. The voice sounded familiar, but it took him a moment to place it. But when he finally did, a smile broke out on his face.

"Marceline!" he called back. Suddenly he forgot the cold, for the little girl with the pointed ears and little fangs was the only source of warmth he had left.

"Mr. Simon, I'm sorry, I couldn't find any food. I looked all over, but there's nothing left. The mutants must have taken it all before we got here," said Marceline, ashamed of herself.

Simon got down on one knee and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, my dear, we'll just move on and look somewhere else."

"But I'm so hungry, what if we can't find any? What will happen to us?" she asked.

"Don't worry about that now, I'm sure we'll find something to eat," he reassured her.

He collected his backpack filled with their few possessions and took her tiny hand in his, and they started back on their trek through the wreckage of the world, together. They had been journeying so long, they wondered if it would ever end.

After an hour or two of wandering, quietly, Marceline said, "Did you know today is my birthday? Or at least, I think it is. It was getting very close before, before it happened."

"Gracious, no," replied Simon. "How old are you?"

"Seven," she said.

"You're growing up," he whispered, the thought sending a pang of sadness through him. This little girl, this little stranger was the only family he had left. Once she grew older and realized what he was, would she leave him like everyone else had? Or worse, would he be too far gone before she would get the chance?

They continued on in silence for a while, for fear of attracting the mutants. The mutants were the victims from the radiation left by the bombs from the Mushroom War. Not only mutants, but monsters created from the magic that had been revived by the war. Any survivors of the war were constant targets and had to always be on the alert, especially the humans.

As the sun began to set hours later, the duo found themselves too weak from hunger to continue. They could find no buildings that were safe to sleep in, and so they had to settle in an abandoned, broken down bus. In the bus, Marceline took a sharp piece of metal and carved their initials into one of the seats, _M and S_. She did this every time they made shelter, whether the shelter was a building or a tree or a fallen down mailbox, and Simon never questioned it. He understood that she was marking each one as theirs. They had so little, and no home to go back to, and so with each mark they had something to call their own. It was a way for Marceline to cope with their constant traveling, to have a home, if only for a very short time.

Fortunately for them, that night Simon caught two rats and Marceline found a dead snake, which would serve for their meager dinner.

"It's not fair," muttered Simon as he handed Marceline a charred rat.

"What's not fair?" asked Marceline as she eyed the rat with distaste. She was almost too repulsed to eat it, but she hadn't eaten in days and that rodent looked like a feast. "It's amazing what you can do when you're hungry," she commented as she chewed a small bite.

"It's your birthday, and what have you got to show for it?" said Simon bitterly as he stared into the pitiful fire that was slowly cooking the snake. "You should be opening presents and blowing out candles on a birthday cake, not eating disease-infested rats and seeking shelter in a broken down hunk of junk."

"I may not get to blow out any candles, but can I still make a wish?" she asked.

"Of course Sweetheart, what's your wish?"

"That no matter what, even if we never find a new home and have to eat rats for the rest of our lives, that we'll always be together."

"Really? That's your wish?" he asked, caught off guard. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather wish for a pony, or a new doll or something?"

"Of course not, stupid," the little girl said as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "You're my best friend. Besides, ponies and dolls are for princesses, anyway."

"Princesses…" breathed Simon, the word triggering something in his mind. He was teleported away from the campfire, and he heard the crown speak in his ear once more.

"_Simon, come to me Simon, and I will save you…_" it whispered, like a winter wind in his ear.

He was snapped back to reality when he heard Marceline say, "This rat isn't half bad. Can I try some of that snake, too?"

xxxx

The next morning, Simon awoke to the sound of screaming. He was used to it by now, but this particular scream was cause for alarm.

"Mr. Simon, help me! Wake up!" cried Marceline.

Simon's shot open and he saw Marceline being dragged away by two men wearing strange hats. Marceline was kicking and fighting back, but she was no match for them. Simon realized with a stab of fear that they must be mutants. He leapt to his feet and chased after them.

Now, Simon had never condoned fighting. Not because he wasn't strong and wasn't built for it, although that was part of it. He hated fighting and violence, and had seen more than his fair share of it during and after the War and avoided it as much as he could. But there was no way he was going to let them hurt Marceline. He knew his chances of winning were slim, but he had to fight back. He would do anything for the little lost girl, even at the cost of his own life, however little that might be worth.

He caught up to them and punched one in the jaw, causing him to let go and cry out in pain. The other pulled out a long dagger and swung it at him while maintaining his grip on Marceline. Simon dodged the attack, and the man shoved the knife at Marceline's throat. Simon stopped, knowing that if he tried anything Marceline would end up dead in a second. Marceline took advantage of the distraction and sunk her teeth deep into the man's arm. He released her and grabbed his arm and she ran to Simon.

"Run!" he shouted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

They only made it a few steps before many more mutants surrounded them, all of them wearing those strange animal hats. Simon felt hopeless as the freaks drew nearer, certain they were both goners. One of the mutants swung a huge club and struck him in the side of the head.

"Simon!" was the last thing he heard before the darkness engulfed him completely.


	2. Chapter 2

When Simon awoke, he found himself lying on cold, hard ground. A bright light shone in his face and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. He sat up and took in his surroundings, and found that the source of the light was a tower that appeared to be on fire that lit up the surrounding buildings.

"Mr. Simon!" Marceline gasped. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Marcy," said Simon as he rubbed his sore head. He noticed that they were alone, but he wondered how long it would last. "What happened? Where are we? Did the freaks hurt you?"

"I'm fine, and you don't need to worry about them, they're nice," Marceline said calmly. "They only knocked you out because a struggle would have attracted the monsters, and they want to help us. They're actually not mutants, or at least, only a few of them are. Most of them are humans in hiding."

Just then, a young woman tentatively came out of a small building and slowly came over to them. She had a pretty face, but it was obscured by splotches of dirt. She wore a t-shirt and jeans, both of which had several holes, some patched, some left open. On her head she wore a hat with pointed ears, like the men who had captured them.

"Hey Ella! My friend's awake now," introduced Marceline. "Simon, this is Ella. She helped me take care of you after they brought us here."

Simon didn't trust these people, not yet, and want her talking to these people, but it was far too late for that.

"Where are the others?" he asked Ella.

"Hiding," she answered. "They are afraid of you."

"Afraid of us? Why?" asked Simon.

"Because you are both mutants."

"We're not mutants!" said Marceline indignantly.

But Simon could see why they would think so. He, with his icy, blue skin. Marceline, with her light, blue-gray skin, pointed ears, and tiny fangs. He didn't know what species Marceline was, but he didn't need to know.

"Some of our own are also mutating," said Ella quietly. "We don't know why, but they don't look quite so human anymore."

"Why did you bring us here?" asked Simon.

"To protect you. This is Beautopia, our home since the War started. Our mutants won't hurt you, but there are monsters out there that feast on humans. We don't know what they are, if they're mutants or magical creatures."

"Magical creatures?" said Simon. Despite all he'd seen and been through, he was still skeptical of magic.

"Daddy told me that the war awakened the magic in the world," said Marceline conversationally, as though they were discussing the weather. "He told me about a being called the Cosmic Owl, and about portals that opened up to other worlds that unleashed magical creatures, both good and bad. He told me he's one of them. I guess that makes me one of them, too."

Simon was taken aback by what she had said and how she had said it, but forced himself to focus on what was happening now. "Is there anywhere safe from these monsters?"

"I've heard of a new land that was born from ashes. There are monsters and freaks there, like anywhere else, but there are heroes to protect the people who live there. I hear it's almost as beautiful as Beautopia, it's called, "Ooo," said Ella reverently.

"Ooo? What a strange name," commented Simon. "Are you sure it's safe? Why don't you and your people go there, then?"

"Too dangerous for us. Besides, Beautopia is our home now, we could never leave it."

Simon wondered about this supposed, "new land." Could it be real? Or was it just a tale told by the lost and desperate like himself who believed in it to give themselves something to live for? Either way, he had to find it. He was losing himself more and more each day, he could feel it. Soon he feared he would be gone for good, and what would happen to dear, sweet Marceline? She needed him, and he needed her.

Then again, He wondered if they should just settle in Beautopia, and not take the risk of finding out there was no Promised Land. It wasn't the ideal solution, but if it kept her safe it would be worth it, he hoped. Either way, even if Beautopia was infested with Freaks, or even if this Promised Land was nothing more than the product of fools looking for hope in a hopeless world, he had to find somewhere safe for Marceline. He had to give her a home.

That night, Ella brought them a sickly-looking fish for them to eat that had been caught in the lake surrounding Beautopia. Simon worried that the fish might not be safe to eat, but in the end hunger won out.

"Why do you all wear those hats, Ella?" asked Marceline as Simon cleaned and gutted the fish.

"The monsters crave human flesh above all else. These hats help us blend in with other animals so they won't want to eat us. I can get you one, if you'd like."

"Thanks Ella!" said Marceline.

Ella left and came back a few minutes later with a hat that looked like it had been made out of a wildcat.

"How'd you make one so quickly?" asked Marceline.

"I didn't, it belonged to a child who died a few days ago," replied Ella matter-of-factly.

"Oh," said Marceline as she took the hat. She didn't plan on wearing it any time soon.

Marceline and Simon ate in silence, which was unusual for them.

Finally, as he stared deeply into the fire as though it might give him all the answers he needed, Simon broke the silence.

"Marcy, I've been thinking. Maybe you should stay here, in Beautopia."

"What? Why?" she asked.

"To keep you safe, of course."

"But the people are mutating, and we don't know why."

"I think it may be from the radiation from the bombs, or it may be something in the water. Either way, I'd rather you become mutated like them then dead," he said quietly.

"No, I won't stay here. I want to go to Ooo."

Marceline would rather die than stay in Beautopia. Trapped underground away from the sun, where the only light would come from the burning tower. There was also the threat of mutating, and she liked herself the way she was. Not to mention the weird smell of the place. Ooo sounded like a wonderland to her, she had to find it, she just had to.

"We might not ever even make it there, assuming it even exists."

"Of course it exists!" insisted Marceline. She didn't want to believe the possibility that it was just a myth, because she didn't want to face the alternative if it didn't.

"I have to keep you safe and alive, that's all that matters," whispered Simon. "And if that means staying down here, then that's what we'll do."

"Mr. Simon, we'll be fine, as long as we stay together," said Marceline softly.

But it was then that she realized that he was no longer listening to her. He was staring into space, no longer looking at her. He had begun to mumble to himself, she couldn't make out what he was saying. He untied the gold crown from around his belt and placed it on his head.

She listened more closely, and she could just make out his words.

"She's slowing me down. Why is she still here? Won't leave me alone…"

"Mr. Simon? What's wrong?" said Marceline, filling with dread. She knew what was wrong, it was the crown. When they had first met, the episodes had been few and far between. But they were happening more often now, especially at night, or when the temperature lowered considerably. And when they hit, they hit hard and without warning. He could go from happy and joking to raving like a madman.

She had been afraid before to remove the crown, as it was what had saved him from the War and therefore the only reason he was with her now. But it had to stop, she couldn't take seeing him like this anymore.

Simon wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked back and forth. His whole body shook and he stared so deeply into the fire it was as if he were about to jump into it.

"Tell me the secrets of the frost," he mumbled. "Tell me the secrets of the power of ice and snow. Tell me, tell me, tell me…"

Marceline stood and crept over to him. Gently, ever so gently, she put her hands on the crown and removed it from his head, but the moment she did, he grabbed both of her hands in his and squeezed tightly.

"Ow! Let go Simon!" she cried as she tried to free herself, but his grip only tightened.

"You want my power! You want to destroy me!" he shouted. "I won't let you take my crown! I'll kill anyone who tries!"

He stood and dragged her towards the fire. She could feel the heat on her back, and although it wasn't a big fire, she still had no wish to join the wood being slowly consumed.

"Mr. Simon, stop! Please!" she cried, but it was like he couldn't hear her. "Please, you don't want to do this, I'm your friend!"

"What's going on?" she heard a man say.

The people had heard the commotion and had come to see what was going on. A group of men ran over to help her. It took three fully-grown men to take down Simon while two others pulled Marceline away from him. Simon bit and clawed and scratched at them, doing a good deal of damage before they pinned him to the ground.

"Pathetic mortals! Release me or suffer a painful demise from the almighty power of the crown!"

"Take him to the outside! Let the monsters eat him!" she heard someone in the crowd yell.

"NO!" she screamed, surprising the men and escaping their grasp. "Don't hurt him, he doesn't know what he's doing!" She ran back over to Simon and threw her arms around his neck. He struggled against her but was powerless to stop her, and he continued to scream and rave and curse her and the others. Bolts of ice flew from his fingertips, hitting a few of the people in the crowd, freezing them. The rest ducked and ran in fear.

"Get away from him, girl!" One of them yelled at her.

"He's too dangerous!"

Ella crouched down by her side but didn't touch her. "Please Marcy, we must take Simon away now. He'll hurt someone if we don't. He'll hurt you."

"I can't leave him, he needs me!" she said as tears ran down her face.

"Look at them, they're both mutants!" someone shouted. "If she wants to go with him, then let them go, before they kill us all!"

Ella continued to plead with Marceline to leave Simon, but she wouldn't budge. The people realized they could do nothing to help the girl and so they dragged Simon to a boat and let Marceline come along, but only if she stayed at the opposite end of the boat from him.

It felt like years to Marceline before they reached the outside world, although it wasn't much more than an hour or so. The air still didn't smell right, but it smelled better than the air in Beautopia.

Under the light of the moon, Marceline saw that they were no longer in the city ruins. There were a few scorched trees here and there, and instead of grass all she could see was dirt mixed with ash, and debris and bone. It was like the world was one big graveyard, and its few remaining inhabitants refused to fill the graves that had already been dug for them. No, she refused to think that way.

The men tossed Simon roughly out of the boat while Simon continued to curse at them. She felt her blood boil at their treatment of him but said nothing for fear of making things worse for him. She noticed that their hands where they had held onto him were turning blue from the cold of his skin, but at least he was no longer attacking.

"You sure you want to stay with him? He's pretty messed up in the head, girly," one of them said.

"I'm sure," she said, her voice quavering with anger and fear.

The man nodded and they took off again for their beloved city. Marceline went over to Simon's side as he lay on the ground, his arms around his head, lying in the fetal position.

"Where is she? Where is my princess?" he mumbled to himself, agitated. "They took her from me, they took her away, they want my power. They can't have my power, they can't have my princess."

Marceline felt tears run down her face. Seeing him like this was painful enough, but knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him was torture. She wanted so badly to save him, to hug him like her mother would hug her whenever she felt bad, but she knew better than to touch him when he was like this. She wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but she wasn't so sure anymore that it would be.

Why was this happening to him? She knew it was the crown, but what exactly was it doing to him? How was it able to change him so drastically, and so suddenly? He had been fine before, but it was like a light had been switched off in him.

It reminded her of the last time she had seen her father. When she was very little, her mother had shown her how to summon her father from the Nightosphere. She remembered seeing her father emerge from the portal with a beaming smile on his face. She cherished her time with both her parents greatly, she didn't have many happy memories but held on tightly to the ones she had.

After her mother died, during the Mushroom War, she had tried to summon her father for help. She had drawn the happy face, doused it in bug's milk and said the words, and the portal opened, but he hadn't come. She yelled and yelled for him, even after the portal closed, but he never came, and she was left alone in the ruins of the world. That is, until Simon had shown up. Ever since then she wondered why he had abandoned her. It made her worry that she might lose Simon, too, and then she would have no one.

Even though she couldn't touch him, she knew another way she could help him. One of the things she loved most about her mother was her singing. Singing helped her to remember her, and to make her feel better. She had sung to Simon before, and it always seemed to help, if only a little.

"_Oh Simon,_

_Why are you leaving me?_

_The crown is stealing you away, _

_But I want us to be free._

_Oh Simon,_

_I'm so afraid for you._

_I know you mean me no harm, you don't mean to hit and yell._

_I want to help you, but as to how, I haven't a clue._

_Oh Simon,_

_You need me here with you,_

_And I need you here with me._

_I've lost all that I love, all I have left are Hambo and you._

_Your hands are cold, but your heart is so warm._

_Just remember me, Simon. Remember me._

_And I'll never forget you."_

He no longer seemed angry, instead he was shaking and whimpering.

"Betty, my princess, why did you leave me? Everyone left me, nobody loves me. Nobody could love an icy king. Please come back to me Betty, please…" begged Simon as he cried like a child in the dirt.

Marceline could tell he wasn't quite back to himself yet, but it seemed she could touch him now without making things worse.

"I love you, Simon. I won't leave you."

She put her arms around him and cried with him until neither could cry any longer.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, when Marceline awoke, Simon was already awake. She could smell something cooking. He had lit a fire and was cooking something in the pan he carried with him.

"Good morning, dear!" said Simon cheerfully. "I found a bird's nest this morning, hope you like eggs."

"Eggs are great, thanks," muttered Marceline as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. If she hadn't witnessed his bizarre mood swings before, she wouldn't have believed her eyes. Angry, agitated, upset, and confused one minute and cheerful and easy-going the next. But she was used to it by now, even if it did leave her with a feeling of whiplash.

Simon chatted pleasantly over breakfast while Marceline nodded her head at all the right times. She was exhausted, and she could see dark circles under his eyes too, even if he didn't remember why he hadn't gotten much sleep.

After breakfast, they packed up their things to move on despite their fatigue. Simon took her hand in his and squeezed it, and when she didn't squeeze back he wondered why.

"Something bothering you, Sweetheart?" he asked.

"Do you remember last night?" she asked as they began walking.

"Of course I-" he paused for a moment, then said, "Well, hm, maybe not."

Simon realized then that something had happened last night, and he had no idea what.

_What did I do?_ He thought to himself, appalled.

"Did I… did I hurt you, child?" he asked, almost too afraid to hear the answer.

"No, not really," she replied. She didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't lie to him. "It wasn't your fault, I'm fine."

Suddenly, Simon finally realized that they had been in Beautopia the night before, but when he had awoken they were back outside. "Did I get us kicked out of Beautopia?"

"The people were scared, that's all."

Simon felt sick at the very idea of what might have happened, and that he had given those kind people reason to fear him, to hate him. He no longer felt cheery at all.

"I'm sorry, Darling," he said softly. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't be," said Marceline as she squeezed his hand and gave him a smile. "You were just having a bad day, everyone has those. You're still my best friend in the whole world, you know."

Simon felt his spirits rise slightly, and the corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile. "What about Hambo?"

"You've got even him beat, and that's saying something," said Marceline as her smile grew wider. It was impossible for her to stay upset with Simon for very long. Whether it be her childish trust or his sweet, kind nature, she always found it easy to forgive him.

"So, you still want to go to Ooo?" he asked.

"Of course I do! What do you think it's like?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe it's a place where animals can talk and have magic powers," he said jokingly.

"That's silly," Marceline giggled.

"Well, what do you think it will be like?"

She pondered for a moment, then said, "It's a beautiful place with lots of trees and flowers, and all the people are nice, and there are no wars. I'd still like to have adventures, though."

"Adventures are never fun when you're having them, not until later when you can look back and see your adventure for what it really was," said Simon.

Marceline had been about to reply, when instead she pointed up at the sky and said, "Look, Mr. Simon! A rainbow!"

"So it is," said Simon as he looked up to admire the rainbow. He had seen more than a few in his life, but never had he seen one as vibrant and magnificent as this one.

But then it started to move. At first Simon didn't know what to make of it as it flew towards them. As it drew nearer, he saw that it wasn't a rainbow at all, but a horse with a horn on its head, its body more colorful than any rainbow he'd ever seen.

Marceline saw it too. "A rainbow unicorn?" She gasped, "It's a rainicorn!"

When it was only a few feet away from them, Simon began to sense danger. "Marceline, I think we should get out of here."

But it was too late. The rainicorn opened its mouth, showing off a mouthful of teeth. Before he could do anything, it sank its teeth into Marceline's stomach.

Marceline screamed in terror and agony as the monster left the ground and began to fly off with Marceline. Blood spurted from her wounds, and for a moment Simon didn't know what to do. But then his mind seemed to clear, and he could think only one thing: protect.

If he had felt even the slightest bit of warmth before, it all disappeared then. He took the crown from his belt and placed it on his head. He extended his hands and saw that they glowed, and without even thinking about it, shot a bolt of ice at a nearby bush and froze it solid. A smile broke out on his face as he pointed at the beast and shot another bolt of ice, hitting it near the head, just barely missing Marceline. The thing shrieked as the ice took hold and froze its head and body. It released Marceline and she began to fall, and when she didn't scream Simon knew she was badly hurt. The beast could no longer fly, and so plummeted to the ground. Ice King rushed over and caught Marceline in his arms as the monster crashed to the ground and shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Simon laid Marceline on the ground. Despite the warm weather, snow began to fall from the sky around them.

Marceline was bleeding heavily, and Simon ripped off his shirt to try to staunch the flow.

"Come on Marcy," he said as her blood stained his shirt. "Stay with me, Sweetheart."

He pressed his head to her chest, but couldn't hear anything. He laid her on the ground and pumped her heart for her, and with each compression tears cascaded down his face and dripped off of his long nose onto her tattered dress.

"Everything will be okay, everything will be okay," he repeated to himself like a mantra. Slowly, he began to lose hope, but he could not stop pumping her heart and lending her his breath, because to accept her death would be to accept defeat, and without her he would have no purpose left. He would be all alone with nothing to keep him going. He didn't know how much longer he could fight off the crown's power, and so he wanted someone with him in his final days.

He was so consumed with trying to revive the lifeless girl that he almost didn't notice the swarm of rainicorns descending on them, ready to devour them. He knew he couldn't fight them all off even with his newfound power, he didn't even understand how to use it properly yet, so instead of fighting, he covered Marceline's body with his own, serving as a human shield. He hoped that they would finish him off and leave her alone, but he didn't really believe they would.

He heard a voice whisper in is ear, _The only way to save her, is to freeze her._

"No," he said aloud, shaking his head to try to rid himself of the little devil on his shoulder in the form of the crown.

_Freeze her!_ It screeched. _Make her into your very own snow angel. Then she will be perfect._

Overcome by hopelessness and the madness of the crown, he raised a hand to freeze her. Just before the first of the beasts was about to sink its teeth into Simon's shoulder, a black hole suddenly opened before him, and a monster emerged from it. The monster's head was huge and grotesque with a vertical mouth and horns. But below the head was the body of a man. The monster let out a loud, angry roar and sucked the souls out of the rainicorns before they could escape.

Simon watched all this in shock; he had never seen anything like this before. He felt a spike of terror run down his spine as the monster turned towards him and shifted its body, transforming into a man in a business suit before his very eyes. Well, not really a man. His eyes were red, and his ears were pointed and his skin was light, grayish blue. Just like Marceline….

Marceline! He was suddenly snapped back to his senses, he stared at his hand in disgust and horror. He couldn't believe what he had been so close to doing to her. How could he save her when the crown made him into her biggest threat?

"What have we here?" the man said as he walked toward them. He knelt down and Simon pulled Marceline's body closer to himself.

"I'd like to thank you for taking care of my little demon, but if you don't mind, I'll be needing her back now. Time is of the essence, you see."

"What are you talking about?" Simon managed to say. "I won't let you have her!"

The man chuckled and said, "Oh you poor, delusional old fool. You see, you may have taken care of her for me while I was away, but she belongs to me. For you see, I'm her father."

"That can't be! You're lying!" But even as Simon spoke the words, he could see that it was true. He looked so much like Marceline, but such a sweet angel couldn't have come from such a horrible monster, could she?

"Aww, how sweet, you've come to love her, haven't you?" said the man with a smirk. He then slid his arms underneath Simon and wrapped his hands around Marceline and pulled her out of his grasp. He cradled her in his arms as if she were a sleeping baby and, before Simon could do anything to try to stop him, he sank his fangs into her neck.

"No! Stop it! Don't hurt her!" yelled Simon as he jumped to his feet and sent a bolt of ice at the man, but he raised a hand to deflect it as if he had shot a rubber band at him.

The man looked up and said to the tiny girl in his arms, "I'm hurting you because I love you. I didn't want to do this until you were older, but I'm left with no choice." He then pressed his thumb against her forehead and said, "I give you ten more years, and then time will have no power over you anymore."

"What have you done to her?"

"Saved her life is all. Turning a dying person into a vampire is possible but not recommended, because the transformation is very difficult, most don't survive. But I know my little Sweetie-pie can do it."

He then began walking toward the portal and said, "Come along dearest, let's go home."

Simon looked past him and saw that the portal led to a place that was filled with fire and darkness, worse than Hell itself, and no place for a little girl. Simon wasn't going down without a fight.

"I won't let you take her," he growled.

The man turned back to face him and said, "What did you say?"

"If you really were her father, and if you really did love her, you wouldn't have abandoned her like you did. You left her all alone in the wreckage of a broken world, left her to fend for herself in a harsh land with cruel monsters, and if one of them didn't pick her off, starvation or the cold could have at any time. I took care of her. I kept her warm and fed and safe, or as safe as possible anyway. And now you've killed her, and you don't even care!"

"Of course I care!" the man shouted. "I wanted to help her, but I was very busy in the Nightosphere. As Lord of Evil I have many duties and responsibilities, someone has to keep the demons in line! Besides, it's not like I wasn't watching her. How do you think I knew to come here and save her, huh? You see, I trust my daughter to know how to handle herself, but I was always ready to save her if need be. Yet here you are, a little blue man who thinks he can control me, Hunson Abadeer, Ruler of the Nightosphere, and tell me how to raise my own child, even after he just about let her get eaten by colorful beasts! What's your name, anyway?"

"Simon Petrikov," he said with as much dignity as he could muster, his hands balled up into fsts at his side.

"Well Simon, if I were you, I would worry less about dear Marceline and more about that crown on your head."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen that crown before, you're not its first owner. The crown is very powerful, and anyone who's ever put it on has met a bad end. Some threw themselves off of cliffs to escape it, some were locked away, and some were even burned at the stake. I'm surprised you've lasted as long as you have, no one's ever survived this long with the crown. But don't take that to mean you're special in any way, no, I'd say the crown has just taken a liking to you, is all. I can see the effect the magic has had on you, you have no idea what that thing is capable of. And yet you still think Marceline would be better off with you?"

"The crown has no power over me," said Simon, determined. It was in that moment he decided that no matter what happened, he would not let the crown take him. He would prove to this monster, or man, or whatever he was that he was strong enough, and that he would not fail the girl.

"Tell you what," said Hunson. "To show you there are no hard feelings, we'll let Marceline decide when she wakes up. And since I'm her father, I'd say I have the advantage."

"Deal," said Simon as he firmly shook the monster's hand, all while feeling his heart sink.

Hunson laid his daughter in the dirt and exited through the portal, and it closed after him.

Simon went and sat by Marceline's side, unsure of what to do. He wanted to hold her, but she was already in such bad shape he didn't want to make things worse. He laid his head on her chest as he done before, and this time his heart leapt with joy when he heard her heart beating again. Hunson's "miracle cure" was working, but at what cost, Simon wondered.

About an hour later, Marceline began to shake, little at first, but then it became violent thrashing. Simon held her body still and made sure her airway didn't become blocked, but she only became worse. She screamed and cried like a banshee. Most of her wails were of pain, but some were brought on by frightful hallucinations he could only imagine she was seeing. He watched in misery as she yelled and cried at beings who weren't there, most of which seemed to be her mother.

"Mama! Mama, don't leave me! Come back! Daddy, I need you! Make the monsters go away!"

Simon couldn't help but wonder if her visions were anything like his. He wouldn't wish his visions on anyone, not even his worst enemy.

Every time she called out for her father, it felt like a kick in the gut to him. Who was he kidding? What child would choose a stranger they barely knew over their own father?

A day passed, and Marceline's pain didn't lesson. If anything, it became worse. But she wasn't screaming so much anymore, and that made Simon worried. It meant she was giving up, and if she stopped fighting, she would die.

"Come on Marcy, don't give up," he whispered as he ran his finger through her raven black hair. "You're the strongest person I know, if anyone can beat this, it's you."

"Why do you care?" she asked, her voice hoarse from all the screaming. "You're not my father."

"No, I'm not," said Simon. "But you're my daughter, in my heart."

Fresh tears ran down Marceline's face, but these were not of pain. "You really mean that?"

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," she said as her body continued to writhe in pain. "I'm just so scared, I feel like I'm dying, except I don't think it should be this painful. What's happening to me?"

"I don't know," he replied. He had heard Hunson mention the word, "vampire," but even after all he'd seen, it couldn't be true, could it? No, it was true, he just didn't want it to be true.

"Read to me from that book in your bag," she said quietly. "The book for truly righteous heroes."

Simon nodded and reached for his pack, and pulled out the Enchiridion, the book he had discovered so many years ago. He'd almost forgotten he had it. He opened it and began flipping through its pages. He stopped at chapter five for a moment and blushed when he read the title, How to Kiss a Princess. He skipped past it, knowing he'd never need to read that chapter.

He found another chapter, one that talked about the great heroes of the past and their legends, and she almost smiled as she listened to him read.

Another day past, and as the sun began to rise, Simon awoke. He hadn't meant to sleep, he had meant to hold Marceline's hand all night as he'd promised, but he was so exhausted it couldn't be helped. But then he realized that Marceline was no longer there.

She was lying a few feet away from him in the fetal position, her skin burning. Simon grabbed his backpack and pulled out an old umbrella and used it to cover her. Once she was out of the sun's light, she began to heal immediately.

The pain from her wounds had left her, but she felt so weak. Her sight was tinged with red, as though someone had dumped a bucket of red paint all over the world.

"Marcy!" said Simon, relieved to see how much her condition had improved. "You shouldn't be moving around yet, though. You need time to regain your strength."

"Do we have any food around here?" she asked.

"Oh my, it's been so long since you've eaten, you must be famished. I'll be right back."

Simon went searching for some food, elated that she was finally better. As luck would have it, he found an old gas station that had been looted, but still had a bit of food left. He brought back with him a half of a loaf of bread, a bag of potato chips, and a can of soda.

He handed her a couple pieces of the bread and took a piece for himself and they sat down to eat. Marceline took a huge chunk out of her bread, but didn't like the taste. She assumed it must be stale but still edible, and so swallowed without another thought. But just a few seconds passed before the bread came back up.

"Something's wrong with that bread," she coughed.

"It tastes all right to me," said Simon, confused.

She then reached for the bag of chips and the soda and took a bite and a sip, but as soon as she had she vomited once more.

"It's not the food, it's me," said Marceline. "What happened to me, Simon?"

Hesitantly, Simon told her of the attack of the rainicorns and how she had very nearly died, but had been saved by her father. He told her how he had bitten her, and about their deal.

"A vampire," she whispered, incredulously. "I can't believe it. I've been looking forward to this day my whole life, I just didn't think it would happen this way."

"Are you going to go with him?" he asked. He was surprised by how excited she seemed to be to have become this, but more and more he was learning that he still had a lot to learn about the world.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. She loved Simon, but she loved her father, too.

"Well, if you're a vampire now, you must need blood," said Simon as he rolled up his sleeve.

"No Simon, I-"

"Do it Marcy, I know you won't hurt me," he said as he offered her a small, confident smile.

Marceline obeyed, determined to not let herself get out of control. She didn't know what blood tasted like, and she wondered how much she needed to sustain herself. Would she have to kill to satisfy her hunger?

As gently as possible, she bit into his arm and sucked the blood that flowed, but found that it did nothing for her. She pulled away and saw that the blood flowing from his arm was blue, like his skin.

"I didn't know the curse was rooted so deeply," he mumbled as he pulled his sleeve back down in shame.

Just then, the same portal as before appeared again, and once again Hunson Abadeer emerged from it.

"Marcy!" he exclaimed with a broad smile. "How's Daddy's little monster?"

"Daddy!" cried Marceline as she ran and threw herself at him. He picked her up, tossed her into the air, and caught her and embraced her tightly as she erupted into delighted giggles.

"Did you miss me?" he asked as he set her back down on her feet.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she said.

"Are you ready to go to the Nightosphere?" he asked as he took her hand. "We'll go as soon as you're ready."

"Who said anything about going to the Nightosphere?" she said as she pulled her hand away.

Hunson looked at her in confusion and said, "Don't you want to go?"

"Not really. I want to go to Ooo."

"Ooo? What on earth is an 'Ooo'?" Hunson turned his gaze to Simon and said, "Frosty, would you mind giving us a moment?"

That was the last thing he wanted to do, but he would let Marceline speak to her father in private, even if it likely meant he would never see her again.

"Why would you want to stay here when you can go to the Nightosphere? It's every demon's dream!"

"I want to be with Simon," said Marceline as she crossed her arms defiantly.

"You know he won't last much longer, don't you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Ahh, I can see in your eyes that you know what I'm talking about. You've seen how the crown has steadily eaten away at his sanity ever since the first time he put it on. You know what I'm talking about, but you don't want to believe it. You see dear, that crown of his, it's filled with all the power of the ice and snow, of everything cold. It is one of the most powerful magical objects in the world, in the universe. I can't really say if it's evil or not, but what I do know is that anyone who wears it is destroyed by its power, in one way or another. Pretty soon he'll leave you and you'll be all alone again."

"He's the only one who hasn't left me," said Marceline, so softly that Hunson almost didn't hear her.

"Are you bound and determined to hold that against me for all eternity? Look Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you, but some things were more important."

"More important than me?"

"No! Of course not! What I meant was, um… Look Honey, Samuel-"

"Simon!"

"Right, Simon. The crown will take him from you, one way or another, but if you come with me you can spare yourself the pain of seeing him destroyed."

"You mean, he's going to die?"

"Maybe, I don't know. He's lasted longer than anyone else ever has, and whether that's a good thing or not is up to you. But staying with him isn't a good idea, you'd be so much better off than in this Ooo place, whatever that is. It's what your mother would have wanted."

"Don't you dare use Mama to trick me! Don't you dare!" Marceline screamed. "Simon hasn't left me, and I won't leave him! I'm staying with him and there's nothing you can do about it!"

As Marceline screamed at him, her face changed into that of a terrible monster. Hunson took a step away from his daughter, not out of fear, but out of awe and surprise and pride.

He sighed and said, "Well then, I suppose I can't stop you. But just remember Pookie, if he leaves you, and by if I mean when, you come straight to the Nightosphere, okay? You remember the spell to open the portal, right?"

"Yeah, but I won't be using it," said Marceline, having regained her composure.

"Whatever you say, Little Lady," he said as he ruffled her hair. "See you around, kiddo."

Hunson opened the portal and stepped through it, then turned back to her and said, "You sure you won't change your mind?"

"Just go, Daddy," said Marceline as she turned away from him. She loved her father very much, and hated to be apart from him again so soon. But Simon needed her, she couldn't let him down.

"Be sure to eat plenty of red, okay? Red is the most powerful color, especially for a growing vampire princess."

She heard the portal close, and she wondered what he meant. Eat plenty of red? How could she eat colors?

She went back and found Simon sitting on a stone with a stick in his hand drawing pictures in the dirt. She couldn't make any sense of them.

"How was your talk?" he asked without looking up at her.

"He's gone, we won't have to worry about him again," she assured him.

"You mean… You mean you're not leaving?"

"No, of course not."

"But he's your father."

"I'll visit him in a few centuries or so. But right now, I'm starving. Do we have anything red?"

There was only one red thing amongst their belongings, but Marceline refused to eat it. Since there was nothing else red for her to eat, so they packed up their things once again and went off in search for food.

For three days they traveled and found nothing red. Marceline became even weaker, and Simon had to carry her on his back. He grew more worried for her with every day that passed; how could he even think about finding Ooo when he couldn't even find the color red?

As the third day drew to a close, after they had stopped and Simon had set up camp, he knew what he had to do.

To keep from being too tempted, Marceline had had him keep the one red thing they had in his backpack for safekeeping. He took it out and went over to her unconscious body, where he had laid it by the fire. He wasn't quite sure how she could possibly eat the color red, but he didn't ask questions.

The little girl eyes fluttered halfway open and she asked, "What's going on?"

"Shh," said Simon. "Here, I found something red for you to eat."

He tilted her mouth open and held the object for her to eat. She weakly bit into it and drained the color from it in seconds, and instantly looked a hundred times better. She sat up and smiled at him, until she saw the object in his hand.

"Hambo!" she cried as she ripped the bear out of his hands and clutched it close to her heart. "How could you? You promised you wouldn't do that!"

"I didn't have a choice, Marcy, I'm sorry," said Simon as he gazed at the once-bright red bear, now a dull grayish color. "At least you still have him, he's just not as handsome as he used to be."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she conceded, not sounding entirely convinced.

Simon couldn't sleep that night as Marcy slept soundly next to him. He hated himself for breaking his promise, but even more so, he hated himself because he knew he would soon have to break another promise to Marceline, the one that really mattered. The problem was, he was afraid he wouldn't have the strength to do it when the time came. Or that he wouldn't be there anymore to make the decision at all, that something else would take his place before he could leave her. His entire body shook as he thought of what he had done, consciously and unconsciously, that had hurt people. Betty, those people in Beautopia, Marceline. He feared the man he would become would do something to her, and he wouldn't be there to stop it. That he wouldn't even be able to remember the sweet little girl who had saved him.

"Oh God," he whispered. "I know I've never prayed before, but the way things are now, I realize I can't do this on my own. I'm desperate, there's no one else I can turn to. I don't care what happens to me, just please, please, take care of dear, sweet Marceline. I know that she's not entirely human, that her father is a monster, but she's still one of your children. Please help me to do what's best for her, even if a day comes when her face and name mean nothing to me. Please, keep her safe and happy, give her a good life. She deserves it more than anyone. Amen."


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks, Marceline began to discover her new abilities as a vampire, namely, flying. Simon couldn't help but laugh as he watched her soar through the sky, as long as she was properly protected from the sun's harsh rays, of course. But as much as he enjoyed watching her happiness, it also served as a reminder that he had not yet managed to find her a safe home yet, and so to him, he might as well be failing.

It was one thing to hear about this magical land of Ooo, but how was he supposed to find it, assuming it even existed? It wasn't like he had a map to guide him, and how much longer would it be until they found more red for Marceline?

His visions were also getting worse. He had begun to see horrid little monsters all around him, and even when he removed the crown, there they still were. They couldn't touch him, or harm him in any way, but that didn't make him feel any better about it.

His sanity was slipping more and more with each passing day, it was like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands. And the blackouts, they happened so often now, and he was afraid to even imagine what might be taking his place in his body when his mind was nowhere to be found. He was so scared that he might hurt Marceline, so scared that he would do something to make her hate him. He needed to find Ooo for her, but at the same time each day that passed without success brought him a tiny bit of relief. As soon as they found this haven, he would have to leave her behind, and he couldn't even stand the thought, so he tried not to think about it.

One day, as the day was drawing to a close, they came across a man with skin that was tinted red with white stripes, like a candy-cane. When he saw them, he smiled and waved.

"Hello there!" he called out to them. He ran over to them and said, "My name is Robert, may I ask who you are?"

Simon was wary of this man, even though he seemed very friendly.

"I'm Marceline, and this is my friend Simon," Marceline introduced. "Why are you painted to look like a candy-cane?"

"Marceline, it isn't polite to ask questions like that," said Simon, even though he was curious, too.

But Robert let out a laugh and said, "It's quite all right, I don't mind. You see, this isn't paint, this is my actual skin."

"What?" said Simon and Marceline in unison.

Robert smiled even wider and said, "Let's make a campfire and I'll tell you the story, it's quite an interesting one, if I do say so myself."

They unloaded their things and Robert started a fire. Simon offered Robert a bit of his food, a piece of stale bread and cheese, and in exchange Robert game them two peppermints from his pocket. Marceline sucked the red out of her piece as Robert began his story.

"Before the war, my people were candy makers. Our entire city's main industry was making sweet things for the world, and there was even a huge factory just for candy. Waste from the factory flowed into the river, but it was mostly just sugar and a few other chemicals and didn't pose any threat to us or to the environment. But after the bombs fell, something in them must have done something to the waste, because it started changing us. Me and my people have slowly been turning into candy ever since."

"You sound so happy about it," commented Simon.

"What's there to complain about? There is nothing more loved in the world than candy, this is a dream come true! I tell you, we're the sweetest people you'll ever meet," said Robert with a wink.

An idea came to Simon then. "You wouldn't happen to know where a place called Ooo is, would you?"

"Ooo? Of course I do! It's a good thing you came to me, because if you hadn't, you never would have found it. You're going south, when you should be going in the opposite direction. But don't worry, a simple detour will have you back on track. Just start heading north, and once you get past the Frozen Land, you'll be there, and it shouldn't take you more than three days, tops. Or, you could just wait right here, because from what I hear, Ooo's getting bigger every day, it'll cover the whole earth soon, I bet. It has lots of little communities in it, some of them are even calling themselves kingdoms, can you imagine?"

Simon felt like his heart might burst with joy. Ooo truly did exist, and they were so close! Marceline looked up at him, her smile matching his own.

Robert spent the rest of the night talking about this and that, but they didn't mind, because they were much too excited to rest.

The next morning, they packed up their stuff once again and bid Robert farewell.

"Come see us anytime! Our leader would love to meet you I'm sure, he's part bubblegum!"

As they travelled on, Marceline at one point found a seed covered in ash in the dirt underneath a scorched tree. She tucked it away in her pocket for safekeeping.

The land all around them still looked dead, it didn't seem as though anything could ever grow here again. The ground in places was more ash than dirt, and any plants they came across were dead, killed by the bombs in the War. There were hardly any animals to be seen, and most of the ones they did see didn't look right. Even the sky didn't seem as blue as it once had. The world was like a gaping wound that didn't seem like it could ever heal.

During his journey, Simon had come across two different types of people: the ones who gave up and the ones who refused to accept defeat. The ones that gave up seemed to look at the world and believe it pointless to even try to continue, and so they allowed themselves to be reduced to a state that wasn't much better than dead. But the ones who fought on became stronger. They didn't all come out looking entirely human, but they were determined to keep on keeping on.

It took a day and a half to reach the Frozen Land. Despite it being summertime, the land was filled with ice and snow. Simon and Marceline had been joking around until they reached it. Once he caught sight of the snow and felt the chilling wind in his bones, he felt a sudden, powerful urge to put on the crown, and he obeyed. A small voice in his head urged him to throw the crown away, but the crown was louder.

_This world is dying. The survivors of the war will all die, no matter how desperately they cling to life. This world is full of evil, and will not last. The only way to save it is to freeze it in ice. Then it will go on forever. Only then will it be saved._

The crown whispered to Simon seductively, like a lullaby. The crown felt tight on his head, as though it were trying to drain the life out of him, and yet it made him feel so good, so powerful. It just seemed right.

_This is your home now, my king. In the cold you will make your kingdom, and it shall be greater than any kingdom this world has ever seen, or ever will see._

"M-Mr. Simon," said Marceline as she tugged at his jacket to try to get his attention. "We should get moving, I feel like I'm turning into a popsicle."

He responded by taking off at a full sprint, and Marceline ran after him.

"Mr. Simon! Where are you going!?" she called after him.

"Home!" he shouted back.

"Home?" she repeated, wondering what he meant.

He disappeared out of her sight, and she had to use her heightened senses to track him down. She eventually found him in a cave in one of the mountains, which was only slightly warmer than outside due to the lack of the freezing wind.

"What are you doing?" she asked when she found him.

He was running around in circles, like a child high on sugar. "Yes, yes, this will be the perfect place for my kingdom! No warmth can get in here, and the snow and ice will never melt! The Frozen Land is mine! I shall call it, the Ice Kingdom!"

"Simon, please, you're scaring me," Marceline whispered.

"Si-who?' he asked as he turned to face her. She looked into his face and saw that Simon no longer looked out of the eyes that were looking down on her now. "I am the Ice King! But a king is nothing without his queen. I need a bride, an ice bride!"

He scrutinized her and said, "Do I know you?"

"It's me, Marceline, your friend!"

"Hmm, you're a bit young to start dating, but would you happen to know where I can find any princesses to court? An older sister, perhaps."

"Stop it!" she screamed at him, appalled by what he was saying. "Come back to me, Simon! Don't let the crown do this to you, fight it!"

"You're a weird little girl, aren't you? Listen kid, I don't do babysitting. Go back home to your mommy and daddy and do whatever it is little girls do, and leave the Ice King to his business, all right?"

"I won't leave you, I promised I wouldn't leave you. Like you promised you wouldn't leave me," she said, fighting back tears of rage.

"I promised that? No, you must have dreamed it, silly-billy. Now run along, you'll probably freeze if you stay here much longer."

In a last ditch effort to bring Simon back, she threw her arms around his waist and squeezed as tightly as she could.

"Please remember me, Simon. Please remember, I can't lose you, not like this."

The Ice King didn't know what to make of this, but he put his arms around her, too, because it seemed like the thing to do. Marceline felt a tiny blossom of hope in her chest that maybe she could save him with her love, and that everything would be all right. Until something caught his eye, and he pushed her away from him and ran over to it, knocking her to the hard, frozen ground.

"Would you look at that! A penguin!" he exclaimed as he picked up the small creature in his hands. "What's your name, little fella?"

The bird made a sound like a duck quacking in response.

"Gunter, eh? What was your mama thinking?" said Simon as he shook his head. "But guess what, you get to be my very first ice minion! I'll be your daddy! We can go court princesses together! Won't that be fun? But remember, I get the hot ones, you can have the ugly ones."

"Quack," it responded.

Marceline picked herself up from the ground. "Simon please!" she wailed.

He whirled on her and slapped her. Her face stung as she stared up at him in shock.

"Would you stop that?" he shouted. "For the last time, my name isn't Simon and I have no time for taking care of crazy little girls! Now get out of here before I turn you into an ice sculpture!"

Marceline couldn't bear to leave him, but she knew there was nothing she could do. She couldn't save him, he was too far gone for her to bring him back this time. She walked out of the cave as tears streamed down her face and froze on her cheeks. They were no longer of rage, but of loss.

She couldn't believe this had happened. One minute Simon was there with her, the next he was a psycho who neither knew nor cared about her in the slightest. She had truly believed he could fight the crown and win, but she was wrong, her father was right, and now she was truly alone.

Not knowing what else to do, and sick of the cold weather, the little vampire continued on through the Ice Kingdom until she reached the end and felt warmth once again. She wished she didn't need the umbrella so that she could feel the sun on her face, but the warm air was enough.

More than once she considered opening up the portal and going to be with her father, but she couldn't bear to, not after he had been proven right. She knew it wasn't Simon's fault, but he, along with everyone else in her life, had broken their promises and abandoned her. She felt even more alone than she had after the War, before Simon had found her.

When she first laid eyes on this new land, she gasped in surprise. There was grass, real grass, underneath her toes. Trees and flowers struggled to grow, but they were alive and not scorched to ashes. She even saw a butterfly fly past, a snail slither across her path, and the sky was as blue as ever. Here, she could almost forget the War had ever happened.

But what was she supposed to do here? She had been so focused on finding this place that she hadn't stopped to consider what she might do once she got there. But then an idea hatched in her brain. It was a long shot, but she had to try.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny seed and planted it in the ground. She didn't know what it would grow up to be, if it even grew, but that didn't stop her. When it began to sprout, she felt her heart lift for the first time in a long while. Every day she would water it and keep it safe from any animals or monsters that would step on it or eat it. Besides finding red and fighting off monsters, that little seed was the only thing she thought about.

Ten years passed and her body changed, and she wasn't sure which changes were stranger to her, the womanly changes or the vampire changes. Either way, once she reached her seventeenth birthday, the aging process came to a halt and she became frozen in time. She wondered if there would ever come a day when she would wish her father hadn't transformed her.

Ninety more years passed. The sprout became a sapling, and the sapling grew into a strong, mighty willow tree that became her home.

She had met a wizard some years back names Ash, and he had agreed to help her build and move into the tree fort that was now her home. She had really liked him, but then he had done the unthinkable, and she had told him she never wanted to see him again.

That first night in her new home, she used one of her long, pointed fingernails to carve her initial into the wall. The _M _seemed so lonely by itself, without the _S_ beside it, but she shook those thoughts away. She refused to think of him, because she knew he would never think of her again.


	5. Chapter 5

The Ice King watched the little girl run away, and briefly wondered if he should follow her. After all, girls liked to be with other girls, right? She might know some sexy vampire ladies for him to date. But in the end he decided against it, because he didn't want the girl to get the wrong idea and start following him again.

He spent the next few weeks creating his castle in the biggest and tallest mountain in the Ice Kingdom. It had to be perfect for his lady. He got excited every time he thought of her; who would she be? How would he woo her? She would have to be the foxiest woman who ever lived, nothing less than the best for the most powerful wizard in the world. She would also have to be a suitable mother-figure, because his children needed the kind of touch only a mother could provide. He and his bride and his penguins would be such a happy family, he just knew it, and then they could freeze all of Ooo and live in a perfect land of snow, like the crown wanted.

During his first century of ruling the Ice Kingdom, he worked endlessly to find a suitable wife, but each and every woman rejected him. He tried bringing them frozen roses, homemade chocolates, and he even gave one of them a penguin as a pet, but none would agree to be his bride. Some even slapped him when they caught him hiding under their beds. It made him very sad and lonely. Why didn't they love him? What was wrong with him? Was he not powerful enough for them? Or perhaps his beard was too shaggy. He had no idea.

After a hundred years and over a hundred failures, he finally found the answer to his problem, he had to steal his woman! He had read several books about brave and dashing princes sweeping maidens off their feet and running away with them, and he realized he had been going about this all wrong. He needed to be more romantic.

Most of the time, when he would try to steal ladies, someone would beat him up and he would leave empty-handed. Even with his power he couldn't steal any women, until one day, he saw a young lady picking flowers in the field. He couldn't tell what she was, but on her head rested a golden crown. He was suddenly glad he had failed all those times before, because as king, he couldn't have just any commoner. What had he been thinking? Was he crazy? He needed a princess!

He ran over to her and swept her off her feet and, as she screamed in protest, flew her to his ice palace. He locked her in the cage he had built just for his bride-to-be. But when he left to put on his best robe and to bring her the wedding gown he had crafted from ice, she was nowhere to be found. The ice cage had been melted completely, as though the girl had been a flame. He pulled at his extraordinarily long beard in frustration and threw the gown on the ground, shattering it.

He tore off his robe, because he was saving it for his special day. But when he did, he felt something in one of his pockets. He pulled it out and read it aloud.

_Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world? _

_That must be so confusing for a little girl. _

_And I know you're going to need me here with you. _

_But I'm losing myself, and I'm afraid you're gonna lose me too. When I don't remember you._

_This magic keeps me alive, but it's making me crazy._

_And I need to save you, but who's going to save me?_

_Please forgive me for whatever I do,_

_When I don't remember you. _

_Marceline, I can feel myself slipping away._

_I can't remember what it made me say._

_But I remember that I saw you frown._

_I swear it wasn't me, it was the crown. _

_This magic keeps me alive, but it's making me crazy._

_And I need to save you, but who's going to save me?_

_Please forgive me for whatever I do,_

_When I don't remember you. _

_Please forgive me for whatever I do,_

_When I don't remember you._

The Ice King felt a sudden and powerful pain in his heart, a longing that for once wasn't for a princess. The image of a blue man who looked remarkably like himself hugging that little girl, the one that had been so annoying, whom he now knew as Marceline the Vampire Queen. The words to a song played in his head, as though an angel were singing it to him.

_Oh Simon,_

_You need me here with you,_

_And I need you here with me._

_I've lost all that I love, all I have left are Hambo and you._

_Your hands are cold, but your heart is so warm._

_Just remember me, Simon. Remember me._

_And I'll never forget you._

"Memories from my past," whispered Ice King to himself. "Of who I was before I put on the crown."

_You have no past,_ the voice reminded him. _You were born from the crown, there is no past, no future. There is only now._

"Oh yeah, how silly of me," said Ice King, feeling relieved. The pain in his heart vanished. "Lucky I have my crown to help me think straight, or else I might just go cuckoo. But I wonder why I wrote this. Must have been for a princess, or something. Or maybe Gunter wrote it, he's such a hopeless romantic. Well, whatever it is, I'll just keep it in the "The Past Room."

The Ice King went into The Past Room and took out a box filled with old scribbled-on papers that he had no use for and added the new one.

This room was where he kept all his things that he had but didn't know why he had. He knew the crown said he had no past or future, but he knew that he must have collected that stuff from sometime before, and so that's how the room got its name.

As he left the room, Gunter waddled up to his side, demanding to be petted. Ice King patted his head distractedly, thinking of the little girl.

"I'll bet she sung that song," he mused. "You know, if I could sing like that, no princess in the entire universe could keep her hands off me. I know! I'll have Marceline help me write a song!"

The Ice King eagerly began flapping his beard and left his kingdom to find Marceline. His heart was giddy at the thought of having some company that wasn't a penguin.

When he found her, he knocked on the door to her tree fort and when she opened it, her eyes widened in shock and she gasped at the sight of him.

His beard reached down to his feet, and his skin was as blue as the sky. Even his glasses were missing; just looking at him now, you would never know there was once a man where the beast now lived.

"Hi, I'm the Ice King, you've probably heard of me, me being the most powerful wizard and king ever, and all that," he said to her. "You must be Marceline, I want you to help me write a song to pick up chicks."

Marceline couldn't believe her eyes, he had come back to her. She couldn't deal with this, she had finally begun to heal and here he was, back to torment her like a recurring nightmare. She wanted so badly to throw her arms around his neck, to hear his stories, to have her friend back. But this wasn't her friend, and she could feel tears brimming in her eyes. She had to get out of here, before he saw her break down. The worst part would be that he would never understand why.

Without taking the time to pack her things or prepare in any way, she flew past him into the dark of night.

"Marceline, wait! I need your help with something!" he called out to her. "Hm, she must be busy. Oh well, we'll do it another time. Gunter can help me write a song in the meantime, although I can't imagine how it could be as good as it would be if she helped me. Her voice makes me feel so… happy, for some reason."

She heard him call out to her. The sound of his voice as he yelled her name was like an icy dagger through her heart. It almost sounded like Simon, but she knew better.

She didn't know when or even if, she'd ever be back. One day she would face him, one day she would try to help her friend, if such a thing was possible. But for now, she would go where the wind took her, and free herself from her earthly bonds. Tears ran down her face as the words to a song popped into her head, but for once she didn't feel like singing.

"Goodbye, Simon. My dear friend."

_~Fin~_


End file.
